To be Your Friend
by KazenoShun
Summary: "Two years had passed since the Starlights returned to Earth." And so Haruka begins to tell her daughter the story of how she and her husband fell in love. From truth-or-dare games to photo-shoot mishaps to the two most unlikely people becoming friends, don't miss the drama that unfolds when Seiya asks Haruka "Could we try again?" But someone doesn't want that to happen.
1. Flalling Ill

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all related characters (c) Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation

This story can also be found at /d52aobm

* * *

"I'm back." The sing-song voice rang through the house into the living room where little Sora was 'painting' a picture.

Paint, paper, and brushes went flying as Sora ran toward the door crying "Usagi's back! Usagi's back!" She turned the corner into the entryway and promptly tripped over her own feet. She fell forward, landing, not on the floor as she had expected, but in the arms of the pink-haired, odango-wearing teenage she'd been running to see.

"That was close," ChibiUsa said, setting Sora back on her feet.

"Indeed it was," Sora's mother agreed, coming towards them from the kitchen where she had been making lunch when Sora yelled. "Welcome back, ChibiUsa-chan."

"It's good to be back, Haruka-san," ChibiUsa replied. She finished removing her shoes and then gave Haruka a careful hug, wary of the now-obvious bulge caused by the child Haruka was expecting.

"You're just in time for lunch," Haruka said, "if you want to stay, of course."

ChibiUsa laughed and said, "Lunch would be wonderful."

"Where did you go?" Sora asked as they walked to the kitchen.

"Back in time to create mischief," Haruka answered for ChibiUsa.

"Create mischief?" Sora asked.

"Come on Haruka-san, it wasn't that bad," ChibiUsa protested. "And besides that, it's been over nine-hundred years since that happened."

"You think I'm going to forget that summer?" Haruka asked in a tone of voice that didn't require an answer, placing a hand on her stomach.

"What'd she do?" Sora asked, thoroughly confused by her mother and her friend.

"Played a game of 'Truth or Dare' with Seiya," Haruka said.

* * *

Two years had passed since the Starlights had returned to Earth. They had traveled back to Kinmokusei, only to find that the damage done by Galaxia while she was under the control of Chaos was so great that no one would be able to live on Kinmokusei for the next couple of decades. Having heard the Starlights' story, and remembering the destruction of her own kingdom in the Silver Millennium, Usagi had insisted that the Starlights stay on Earth until it was safe for them to return to their mother planet. The Starlights has quickly caught up with the classes they had missed in school, and Kakyuu enrolled as well, using the civilian name of Akane Kou.

When Usagi and Mamoru married after the return of the Starlights, the Senshi decided that it would be safer for everyone if they all collaborated to buy a house that they could all live in as a group, especially now that they had finished high school and been accepted to the University. They all ended up at the same university as Mamoru attended, often sharing classes.

It was no surprise to anyone when, a month later, Yaten and Minako got married. The surprise came when it was discovered Taiki and Makoto were quietly dating, although Usagi, Akane (Kakyuu), and Mamoru had known all along. ChibiUsa popped in for a visit at the beginning of the school year, announcing that this time she was 'not leaving until after I've been born in the current time'.

The story that Haruka told Sora started at the end of the second year, which was also just a week before the beginning of summer break, on the day that the university authorities had decided would be the date for the 'student picture', a picture of all the students enrolled at the university.

* * *

"Truth or Dare?" ChibiUsa asked Seiya who was kneeling on the end of the metal bleachers set up for the photo shoot.

"Dare," Seiya answered, having been asked too many embarrassing questions whenever he'd chosen truth before.

ChibiUsa grinned wickedly, and whispered the dare into Seiya's ear.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Seiya whispered back, his face going pale.

"Either that, or Truth," ChibiUsa told him, just as the photographer yelled 'Places!'

Seiya stood up carefully, glancing at the wind-blown, blond-haired head in front of him. Although Haruka and his dislike for each other was well known throughout the school, the photographer didn't notice, and had placed them one in front of the other. Seiya was just glad that it was Haruka in front of HIM, and not the other way around, certain that he would be plummeting down the bleachers by now if it had been the other way around. He knew that, except for the fact that he was now six centimeters taller than Haruka, he would have been on the bleacher next to her, or worse, in front of her. He had thought that the fights between himself and Haruka had become a game now that they'd gone on for so long, but Haruka had proved him wrong the week before by trying to break his nose, and possibly even his skull, against the pavement of the outdoor basketball court.

"Ready," the photographer shouted. "Three, two. . ."

Seiya threw his arms around Haruka's shoulders in a hug just as the photographer shouted "one" and the camera flashed several times. _Is this what you wanted me to do?_ Seiya thought, sparing the briefest of glances toward the smiling pink-haired devil standing a short way beyond the camera with Hotaru. He felt Haruka begin to turn, and, figuring he'd already endangered his life as far as it could go, he followed through with the second part of the dare, planting a kiss on Haruka's cheek as she turned to yell at him. Haruka remained frozen with surprise for an instant, just long enough for Seiya to jump off the bleachers and make a run for it.

"Seiya you're dead!" Haruka yelled, taking off in hot pursuit. The majority of the students on the bleachers, as well as the crowd of onlookers waiting for family and friends, turned to watch as Haruka chased Seiya off tin the direction of the science building.

Usagi sighed, and left the bleachers, going up to ChibiUsa and putting a hand on her shoulder. "What did you dare him to do this time?" she asked, knowing full-well the culprit behind the joke that had caused Haruka's explosion.

* * *

Seiya darted around the corner of the science building, ducking into the open-air hallway that led to the back door. Carefully, with trained precision, he slowed his breathing, knowing that it would be a dead giveaway when Haruka caught up with him. He had turned several corners in the hope of loosing her, but his chances were looking pretty slim. His perspective began to change, however, as nearly five minutes passed and Haruka still hadn't found him. He carefully glanced around the corner of the hall, and was shocked to see Haruka jogging around the corner on the other end of the wall.

She was jogging slowly, and she slowed even more as she neared the hallway, coming to a complete stop just a few feet from Seiya's hiding place. She bent over and put a supporting hand on one knee, holding her side with the other hand. After a few moments of standing there, she leaned against the wall of the building, and then slid down until she was sitting on the path with her back against the wall, and one hand still clutching her side.

Seiya could hardly believe his eyes. The Sailor of the Wind, the fastest person he knew, out of breath? It had to be a trick to get him to come into the open. But, as he continued watching, and began to listen harder, he realized that it was no trick.

Haruka's breathing was ragged, coming in short gasps, her mouth contorting into a grimace at each intake of air. Her face was as white as a sheet, making her blond hair look dark in comparison. She kept her hand on her side, even after she regained her breath. She sat there for a minute or two, brushing away sweat with a shaking hand. "All right Seiya," she yelled hoarsely, "I give up. I can't catch you this time."

Seiya waited in his hiding place until Haruka finally stood up and left, still holding her side. He was both shocked and frightened. Haruka had suddenly seemed so fragile as she had sat there, gasping for breath, enough so that Seiya had almost wanted to leaving his hiding place and ask her what was wrong, but he was afraid of what she'd do if she knew that he'd seen her like that. Seiya didn't want to know what Haruka did to people who saw her when she was vulnerable. As soon as Haruka turned the corner, Seiya took off running around the building the other direction. He knew that, if he timed it right, and assuming that Haruka didn't change her pace after she turned the corner, he could catch her as she left the science compound. _Might as well try and apologize_, he thought, _after I made her run like that. Take this chance to get a lease on life._

* * *

It was a week later, on the last day of school before summer break, that Usagi asked Seiya if he knew where Haruka was. Seiya answered that no, he did not know where Haruka was, but he thought he remembered that they were the only two staying after for activities, so he would make sure he found her before they headed home. Usagi thanked him and left with the others. Seiya headed over to the football field.

After they finished the last practice for the year, Seiya put his gear away and headed back toward the main building, threading his way through the narrow back-ways of the buildings. He had just passed the track field, when he thought he heard crying. He turned a corner, and saw Haruka, with her back against the wall and her head on her knees. Michiru had convinced her to wear a skirt for the 'last day of school', but Seiya did not think that was why Haruka was crying.

He walked closer, saying, "Haruka-san?"

"Go *sob* away," Haruka cried. She tried to turn away, but it was too late, Seiya had already seen the red welt on her arm and the bruises on her legs.

"Did you get in a fight?" he asked, kneeling next to her.

"Not *hic* intentionally," Haruka said, her sobs bringing on a bought of hiccups.

"Was it something somebody said to you?" Seiya prodded.

Haruka nodded, but did not speak. She lifted her head from her knees and Seiya gasped. Her left eye had been blackened, and an angry, red scratch stretched from her cheekbone to her chin on the right side of her face. Tear-tracks stained her cheeks, and her blue eyes gleamed as more tears streamed down her face.

Seiya did not pry further, but instead put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Somehow, Seiya was not sure quite how, he ended up holding Haruka in his arms while she cried into his shoulder. He held her in a way that he hoped was firm, but gentle, he didn't want to cause her anymore pain. He could feel her body shaking as she cried, and could feel the hot tears penetrating his shirt to land on bare skin. This Haruka he held in his arms was different from the Haruka he had first met after the double-concert with Michiru. Her relationship with Michiru had changed over the past four years, the closeness that had once made them seem like lovers had now settled for turning them into sisters.

Haruka finally stopped crying, but she did not attempt to leave Seiya's arms. She needed someone to hold her just then, someone who wasn't going to pound her against the wall. She felt oddly safe in Seiya's embrace, as if his arms were shielding her from all the emotional and physical pain that she had been suffering from for the last week.

"You ready to go home?" Seiya asked quietly.

Haruka nodded. She turned her head so that her face was no longer pressed into Seiya's shirt, but rather facing him, and whispered, "Thank you."

Seiya drove on the way home, as Haruka's hands were still shaking and she didn't trust herself to drive straight. Michiru greeted them when they arrived back at the house, but didn't ask any questions, only requested that they take a look at the other car to see if they could fix the air conditioning. They both disappeared upstairs to change, agreeing to meet in the garage.

They had nearly finished tinkering around with the engine to make sure everything was in working condition, when Seiya asked Haruka a question. "Have you ever looked into the legends behind the name of the planet you represent?"

"No," came her muffled reply from somewhere in the depths of the engine.

"Well," Seiya said. "Apparently the planet Uranus was named after the Roman god Uranus."

"Wonderfully fascinating," Haruka commented sarcastically. "Ow!" She emerged from the engine holding the back of her head with a greasy hand.

"You want to know what happened to Uranus?" Seiya asked, grinning.

"What?"

"He was killed by his own son," Seiya said. "That son just happened to have the name of Saturn, in case you were wondering."

"And how did Saturn defeat his father?" Haruka asked. She shot Seiya a look of mild disgust, knowing that he was referring to her past misgivings about Hotaru being Sailor Saturn.

Seiya put an arm around Haruka's shoulder and whispered the answer in her ear. He then took off running as Haruka uttered an indignant shriek before running after him. They ran around the house, but Seiya, keeping an eye on his pursuer, saw that she was slowing as they turned into the backyard, clutching her side again. He stopped, turned around, and went back.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a supportive arm around her waist as she gasped for breath. She nodded, her head against his shoulder. They stood there for several minutes while Haruka caught her breath, and Seiya tried to assure himself that she really was okay. "Ready to head in?" he asked.

"Sure," Haruka answered. She freed herself of Seiya's supporting arm, walking ahead of him towards the house. She'd been angry after Seiya told her the details of the myth, but that anger had changed to, something else, when he'd turned and come back for her. She wasn't used to such feelings, and wasn't sure if she wanted to get used to them.

They entered the kitchen through the back door, and discovered that Michiru had seen them coming, and had two damp towels ready to wipe off as much grease as possible.

Haruka held her towel up to her mouth, coughing into the soft cloth. Seiya looked over at her just in time to see the now blood-stained towel fall to the floor, more blood dotting Haruka's face around her mouth.

"Haruka-san!" he cried, catching her as her knees collapsed and she fell. He gently lowered her to the floor with the help of Michiru who had rushed to Haruka's side when Seiya yelled.

Makoto, who had been mixing a cake batter together, ran from the kitchen, yelling for Ami, Taiki, and Usagi. She returned moments later, followed not only by those she had called, but also by Minako, Yaten, Akane, and Mamoru.

Usagi knelt beside the still-coughing Haruka, placing one hand on Haruka's neck and the other on her chest. A soft glow emanated from her palms. Haruka's coughing slowed, and finally stopped.

Seiya did not let go of Haruka as Usagi drew her hands away. He could tell, from the way that Haruka lay limply in his arms, that she was no longer conscious.

"Can you please carry her into the guest room?" Usagi asked.

Seiya nodded, standing carefully with the unconscious Haruka in his arms. He carried her into the guest bedroom, laid her on the bed, and then headed upstairs, having been shooed out of the room by the girls. He showered and changed before heading back downstairs. "How is she?" he asked as he came into the room.

"Sleeping," Ami told him. "She's got at least two broken ribs, if not three, and she's covered with bruises." She led him to the bed where Haruka lay with a blanket covering her from the waist down.

The bottom half of Haruka's shirt had been cut away, revealing many more bruises on her stomach and back. She had a pair of red welts on her sides where Seiya knew her ribs started. Seiya, looking at the result of whatever had been done to Haruka, felt a red rage building up within him. He and Haruka had each had their share of bruises from fighting over the past four years, but he had never touched her in the area where she now had the welts. He knew that, if he had touched Haruka there, she would have had every right to beat him to a pulp. Seiya had not realized that he had clenched his fists until Akane put a gentle hand on one of his shaking hands.

Usagi sighed, placing a damp cloth on Haruka's forehead. "We'll have to wait for her to wake up before we can find out what happened," she murmured.

"We should set up shifts," Akane said quietly. "That way we can keep an eye on her, in case she gets worse."

Usagi nodded, but still did not take her eyes off of Haruka's sleeping face. "I'll take the evening shift," she said.

"I can take a night shift," Seiya volunteered so quickly that he startled himself. "I can use the time to get a head start on summer homework!" he cried defensively.

"Okay," Usagi said. She turned away from Haruka and walked out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "I'll get some paper and pens so we can make a chart of who's down here when, so that nobody skips or forgets to wake up the next person."

Seiya watched her go, then looked back a Haruka. He knew that it was painful for Usagi to see one of her soldiers hurt like this, he felt bad himself. He knew that he should have confronted Haruka as soon as he saw that something was wrong after the photo shoot, but he'd been a coward, afraid to let Haruka know that he'd seen her like that.

Haruka was sleeping now, but her face was anything but peaceful, with an expression of pain on it, that Seiya hoped never to experience.

* * *

It was two o'clock the next morning when Yaten dragged (almost literally) a very sleepy Seiya from bed.

Seiya, still yawning, grabbed his history textbook, and a pencil before heading downstairs to the guest-room-turned-sick-room. He banged his head on the doorframe, stumbled into the room, and flipped on the small lamp on the side table. Sitting down next to the lamp, he glanced over at Haruka.

Haruka had been transferred from the bed to a sleeping mat earlier that evening when her tossing and turning had threatened to land her on the floor. Her shirt and skirt had been replaced with a worn, but soft, kimono-like robe that was loosely tied at her waist and held closed at the top with a ribbon. Her hair had been washed and brushed, and somebody, Seiya wasn't quite sure who, had taken the time to wash the dried blood off her face and arms. The expression on her face was still painful, but it was noticeably less, which, Seiya hoped, meant that she wasn't in as much pain as before.

Seiya had just cracked open his book to start reading, when the hairs on his neck and wrists stood up. He glanced back at Haruka, and met the two deep-blue eyes that were staring at him. "You're awake," he murmured softly.

"I guess," Haruka responded, moving nothing but her lips.

Seiya closed the book and set it back down. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked, turning towards Haruka.

She grimaced. "Slightly,' she answered. "My chest feels like it's on fire, but everywhere else I'm freezing.

Seiya frowned, and placed the back of his hand against Haruka's forehead. "You've got a fever," he said, his frown deepening.

Haruka groaned, then lifted herself up on her elbows, and finally into a sitting position. She took a deep breath, as if to say something, and promptly started coughing.

Seiya grabbed the bowl that was on the nightstand next to the lamp, placed there after Ami had warned them that it might be needed if Haruka started coughing again. He kept one hand on the bowl as both blood and vomit fell into it, the force of Haruka's coughing triggering her stomach and causing it to regurgitate the remains of her lunch. Seiya placed his other arm around Haruka's shoulders, keeping her steady while the coughing fit racked her body. Seiya guessed that three to five minutes had passed by the time Haruka stopping coughing and her stomach had relieved itself of its contents.

"Wait here," Seiya murmured as he stood up, brushing his palm across Haruka's forehead to wipe away some of the sweat that had formed there. He went into the adjoining bathroom and got a rag damp with warm water. Returning to Haruka, he carefully wiped away the thin coating of blood around her mouth. He then took both the bowl and the rag into the bathroom, pouring the contents of the bowl into the toilet before rinsing it out. He was worried when he saw that there seemed to be more blood in the bowl than bile. He returned to the guest room and set both bowl and rag on the nightstand, ready in case they were needed again.

Haruka was still sitting up, but she was now staring at her hands which were clasped in her lap.

Seiya watched for a moment, puzzled, until he saw a tear fall onto the blankets. "Haruka-san?"

"I can't do it," Haruka whispered, bringing her hands up to her face as she spoke.

"Can't do what?" Seiya asked. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Haruka shook her head, pulled her hands away from her face, and looked at him, eyes brimming with tears. "I can't be strong for her," she whispered. A soft sob broke her voice, and the tears in her eyes started to flow down her cheeks. "I promised *sob* myself *sob* that I'd be *sob* stronger *sob*. After- *sob*. After Chaos was defeated, *sob* I promised my*sob*self I be stronger, *sob* for Usagi's sake." Then her hands came back up, and Haruka broke under the strain she'd created for herself, unable to stop the tears running from her eyes.

Seiya found himself holding Haruka in his arms for the second time in twenty-four hours, and like before, he held her firmly, but gently. He held her like that until her sobs started to slow and become quieter, long periods of silence broken only by sudden gasps for air as Haruka continued to cry silently. "It's okay," Seiya murmured into Haruka's ear, stroking the soft blond hair.

"Why do you *sob* say that?" Haruka asked.

"Because you don't have to be that strong all the time," Seiya told her. He waited for a moment, then continued when Haruka didn't respond. "My teacher, the previous Fighter, told me that. When I first started training as a Starlight, I didn't want any help. I believed that I could do everything on my own. I can remember getting so frustrated whenever I was told to spar with Maker or Healer and was beaten. My teacher pointed out that I couldn't take on all opponents by myself, she reminded me that SHE didn't even fight alone, but rather that she fought together with her husband, even though he wasn't a Starlight. She told me that the best way to fight, is when someone else is watching your back, and you're watching theirs."

"Like Healer and Venus," Haruka interjected, lifting her head from Seiya's shoulder to look at him.

"Like Healer and Venus," Seiya agreed. He raised a hand to Haruka's cheek to keep her from turning away. "You're one of the strongest soldiers I know," he told her, "even without pushing yourself this way." He brushed a stray tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"Thank you," Haruka whispered, leaning on his shoulder again. They sat like that for a few quiet moments before Haruka broke the silence. "Seiya?"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask a favor?"

"I guess, so long as it's something I can do," Seiya told her.

Haruka put an arm around his neck and raised her mouth to his ear. "Please, sing," she whispered before falling back to his shoulder.

"Of course," he replied. He thought for a moment, digging through several foggy memories before he started to sing softly.

Yoru ni,

Tsuki no hikari ni,

Kaze no yasashii na houyou o kanjiru,

Anata to watashi to,

Iishoni DANSU de,

Iishoni anata to,

Watashi to.

The simple rhyme repeated itself over and over, it was a lullaby that Seiya's teacher had taught him once when he was sick. She had told him that it was a very old lullaby, and that it came from a kingdom in an ancient empire that had vanished at the end of the Silver Millennium. She told him the name of the kingdom was Ten'nousei, which, if he remembered correctly, meant 'Uranus'.

He was rewarded a few minutes later, when Haruka began to hum along with the lullaby, and then to sing, pronouncing the words far better than he was doing, although he hadn't sung it since his first visit to earth. He thought of the translation of the song.

In the night,

In the light of the moon,

Feel the soft embrace of the wind,

You and me,

Dancing together,

Together you,

And me.

Seiya heard Haruka stop singing, her low voice replaced by the soft sound of breathing as she fell asleep. He continued singing for a few more minutes, then stopped. He could feel Haruka's heartbeat through her robe, fragile, yet beating strong. He could also feel her hair pressed against his neck, which tickled a bit. He realized that he wasn't annoyed by these feelings, but that he rather enjoyed them. _We missed out on so much,_ he thought, carefully stroking Haruka's pale curls, _just because we couldn't even try to be friends. Maybe,_ he paused with the thought, hardly daring to even let it enter his mind, _maybe we can try again._

Haruka stirred slightly in her sleep, her head slipping from Seiya's shoulder and down his arm.

Seiya laid Haruka back down on the sleeping mat, pulling the blanket up to her chin, and adding a second blanket pulled off the bed. He carefully brushed Haruka's bangs out of her eyes before picking up his textbook and resuming studying. He kept glancing over at Haruka during the next three hours of his shift, sometimes re-tucking the blankets after she moved, other times just looking at her, wondering why they'd gotten off to such a bad start.

It was six in the morning when Seiya finally turned off the lamp and went to wake Makoto, who had the next shift. It was then that he realized that he'd forgotten to ask Haruka who had hurt her. He decided that it was too late (or was it too early) to ask now, and he would have to wait to find out.


	2. Unexpected Change

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Sailor Moon, all Sailor Moon characters (c) Naoko Takeuchi

* * *

Seiya woke up sometime around nine, or at least, that's what his alarm clock said before he threw it into the wall. It took him roughly another hour before he was showered, dressed, and downstairs in a somewhat presentable form. The sight of the guest room door, the frame of which he'd become closely acquainted with when he'd run into it the nigh before, woke him up enough to wonder if Haruka was awake. The door was open, so he peeked in as he passed.

Haruka was still asleep on the floor, and Michiru was seated next to her with some sheets of music paper and a pencil.

"She's still out," Michiru said, not looking up from her sheet music.

Seiya tried to chuckle lightheartedly as he stepped into the room, feeling his cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, wondering how Michiru had known what he was thinking.

"I have some telepathic ability," Michiru reminded him, reading his thoughts with surprising clarity. "And besides." She set down the paper and looked straight at him. "I can see that you've started caring for her in a different way."

The dark eyes and serious words pierced Seiya as he left the room. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Michiru was right. In the time span of fours years, he'd come to see Haruka in a different light. But his feelings had been hidden, even from him, until he'd seen Haruka the day of the photo shoot, the day that he'd realized that he wanted to protect her from whatever it was that could make her cry. He wondered, now, how Haruka felt about him. He knew that it was likely that she still viewed him the same way now as she had four years ago, but he couldn't help but hope that the events of the night before meant that she was softening towards him.

Haruka awoke around noon. She still had a fever, and she was still in danger of coughing herself to death, but she was awake. Usagi, Akane, Ami, and Michiru all tried to get Haruka to tell them what had happened, but she refused every time. She even turned on her side and faced the wall, huddling under her blankets in a 'don't talk to me' kind of position.

It was about two o'clock when Seiya peeked into the guest room again. It was Ami's shift, but she was looking at her watch with a worried look on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Seiya asked.

"Oh!" Ami looked up quickly. "I completely forgot that I was supposed to meet my mom today to talk about school," she explained. "And everyone else is out."

"So that's why it's so quiet around here," Seiya murmured. "Do you want me to fill for you?" he offered.

"Oh, would you?"

"Course I would," Seiya said with a smile.

"Thank you!" Ami cried, dashing from the room.

"No problem," Seiya called after her. He turned toward Haruka's still form, wondering if she'd managed to go back to sleep, or if she was still awake.

"Why'd you do that?" Haruka asked, proving that she was indeed awake. She turned over and looked at Seiya, her deep blue eyes studying him as he stood there.

"She sounded like she was worried," Seiya said, avoiding the deeper meaning of Haruka's question. He walked over to her, knelt down, and placed a hand on her forehead, trying to guess her temperature. She still had a fever, but it didn't seem as hot as it had last night.

Haruka caught his hand as he pulled it away from her forehead. "Did you say anything?" she growled, blue eyes flashing. "Did you tell anyone about last night?" So she was embarrassed about the night before.

"I didn't say anything to anyone," Seiya told her, trying to pull his hand free.

Haruka held on tighter, studying his hand as though trying to memorize it, although Seiya didn't have a clue as to why she'd want to memorize his hand.

Seiya cleared his throat, and was ignored. He took a deep breath, placed his other hand on top of Haruka's, and asked, "Who hurt you?"

Haruka continued to study Seiya's hand, Seiya was afraid that she was going to ignore him like she had the others. Then she spoke. "Teki," she said in a whisper. "Teki Zettai."

"Is it okay for me to ask why?" Seiya whispered. He squeezed her hand gently, and realized she was trembling.

"Because," Haruka started with a shaking voice. She paused, licked her lips, and tried again. "Because I told him that I wouldn't go out with him." She spoke quickly and quietly, but Seiya caught what she said.

It didn't surprise him. Teki Zettai was known in the University for always having a girl on his arm, although some of the girls looked like they would much rather not be there. It was rumored that Teki beat any girl who refused him, but there had never been any proof, until now.

"Who helped him?" Seiya asked, rubbing Haruka's hand between his own.

"Why-" Haruka's sudden break-off and large eyes were enough to convince Seiya that he was right about Teki having accomplices.

"He never could have beaten you if he was alone," Seiya said. "You're to strong for that, which means that he must have had help."

"I don't know their names," Haruka told him. "But," she paused, biting her lip and refusing to meet Seiya's gaze.

"But..." Seiya prodded gently, squeezing her hand again.

Haruka looked at Seiya with wide eyes. "There was five of them," she whispered. "Two of them surprised me from behind, and then the rest jumped in and held me so that I couldn't move." She stopped talking, unwilling to say anything more.

Seiya didn't push her. He knew that it had taken a lot of courage for her to tell him what had happened. "Thank you for telling me," he said quietly.

Haruka closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into her blanket, a soft, pink tinge spreading across her pale face.

Seiya frowned, and felt her forehead again. It was much hotter, even more so than the night before. "Haruka-san," he murmured.

Haruka, whose thought process had become rather cloudy, suddenly reached up, grabbed Seiya shirt, pulled him down to her, and kissed him.

It was a very quick kiss. Seiya only just had time to feel Haruka's dry lips on his before she pulled away, hiding under her blankets. He could hear a muffled exclamation of "What did I just do!" Rather startled and upset, Seiya made a quick excuse of going to 'find his textbook', and quietly left the room. By the time Haruka had worked up the courage to peek out from under the covers and apologize, Seiya was gone.

She smacked herself in the forehead, increasing her already pounding headache, turned her face into the pillow, and cried herself to sleep. All the time wondering why in the world she had kissed Seiya.

* * *

"Just go apologize to him," Michiru said. She glanced up from her sketchbook to look at Haruka's back, which was all she could see since Haruka was laying on her side.

"How do I apologize for... for..." Haruka broke off, turning over to look at Michiru with wide, pleading eyes.

"Apologize for taking what was probably his first kiss?" Michiru finished for her. She looked back down at her sketchbook, bit her lip for a moment, and then reached into the tray of colored pencils sitting next to her, searching for some color she hadn't gotten out yet.

Haruka propped herself up on her elbows, still looking at Michiru, waiting for an answer.

"Why did you kiss him?" Michiru asked.

Haruka jerked upward, staring at Michiru with wide eyes and a somewhat scared expression on her face.

"That's what you need to know before you apologize to him," Michiru said. She picked one the pencils out of the tray, examined it with an expert eye, then placed in back on the tray before continuing her search. She picked through the colors for a little bit longer, then glanced up at Haruka, who was still watching her.

Haruka blushed so brightly that her cheeks looked like they were glowing pink. She turned her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.

Michiru smiled at Haruka when the blond pulled her knees up to her chest. _She looks cute like that_, she thought. Her smile faded when she noticed the far-away look in Haruka's eyes, giving the blue orbs extra shimmers of light that made them seem like liquid sapphires. "Haruka?"

"He reminded me," Haruka paused. Unshed tears glistened on her eyelashes, but none flowed down her cheeks, not yet, at least. She took a deep breath, and started again. "He reminded me of Taiyou," she said quietly.

"Oh," Michiru murmured. "Well," she bit her cheek, trying to decide on the safest place to step on this delicate ground. "I guess...he does somewhat resemble Hoshino-san."

"Hoshino-san?" Haruka looked at Michiru for few moments with one eyebrow raised. "Oh, that's right," she said, putting two-and-two together. "The two of you didn't call each other by your given names."

"Uh-huh," Michiru agreed. She put down her pencils and sketchpad. "To start calling him by his given name now would feel like I was dishonoring him," she said quietly.

Haruka smiled, but her eyes kept their far-away appearance. She stared at her knees for a few moments, then tossed off the blankets. "I guess I'd better go apologize," she said.

"Are you sure you should be walking just yet?" Michiru asked, scrambling to her feet with one hand outstretched to stop Haruka.

Haruka smiled at her friend. "It'll be alright."

* * *

Seiya couldn't sleep, and he couldn't get that kiss out of his mind either. He'd tried everything from counting sheep to listing the star-systems and their component stars between here and Kinmokusei. Nothing worked; he was as wide-awake as if it were the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night.

"Shiroi hana bira umini chirabari  
Kimi no kage wo mezashi kasokushiteku"

The soft words floated through the doorway of Seiya's bedroom, stirring him from the trance-like state he had slipped into. He got out of bed, and walked to the door. The words grew clearer, and he could hear the piano accompaniment. The song was one that Haruka had written after the battle with Galaxia, but Seiya didn't know why Haruka would be in the music room singing when she was supposed to be resting in bed. He sighed, turned off his bedside lamp -which he had forgotten to turn off earlier while trying to sleep-, and headed out the door toward the music room.

The music grew louder as Seiya neared the doorway to the music room. He could see a soft, yellow light shining beneath the closed door, illuminating the wood-panel floor specifically chosen for sound quality. He paused at the door, hesitant to disturb the singer, but he screwed up his courage, and opened the door. He stood blinking in the doorway for several moments, temporarily blinded by the bright light inside. Shapes began to come into focus as his eyes re-adjusted. Soon he could make out the glass window between the music room and the recording studio, the microphones standing in a neat row against the far wall.

"I didn't think you'd be awake." Haruka's voice broke through Seiya's reverie.

"Only half-awake," Seiya interjected, immediately feeling that it was a rather lame excuse. He focused on the piano in the middle of the room, where Haruka had been playing until a moment ago.

Haruka looked down at the piano keys, seemingly trying to gather her courage. "I'm sorry for this afternoon," she said softly. "I wasn't thinking completely straight, but that's not the only reason." She looked Seiya in the eyes. "I have a story I need to tell you."

"Alright," Seiya agreed, "I'll listen. But let's go back to the guest room first."

"Okay," Haruka whispered. She slid the piano bench back and stood up, leaning on the piano as she walked towards Seiya. She took a few steps in his direction without the support of the piano, and nearly collapsed before Seiya caught her. "Thank you," she grunted. "I guess I'm not as well as I thought."

Seiya allowed a small smile to creep onto his face as he helped Haruka to stand straight again. He slid one arm behind her shoulders and, bending down in one quick motion, slid his other arm behind her knees, lifting her off her feet as he stood.

Haruka let out a soft exclamation of surprise, but she didn't struggle as Seiya began to carry her out of the room and toward the stairs, pausing only to turn out the light. She wrapped her arms around Seiya's neck, steadying herself as Seiya carried her down the stairs. She let her head drop to his shoulder, smiling as she settled into the warm spot where Seiya's neck joined his shoulder. She could feel his ponytail brushing against the top of her head, a few loose strands tickling the back of her neck. She closed her eyes with a soft sigh, listening to the thump of Seiya's heart. She didn't stir until she felt Seiya slow to open the door of the guest room, opening her eyes and lifting her head from his shoulder as the soft lamplight poured though the open door into the hallway.

Seiya carried Haruka into the guest room, gently setting her on the floor-mat and blankets. He nodded to Michiru, who nodded back before returning to her sketch. Seiya sat on the floor next to Haruka's sleeping mat, looking at her expectantly.

Haruka took a deep breath, clenching her hands momentarily. Finally, she turned to him and asked, "Shall I begin?"


	3. Taiyou Hoshino

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its characters, Sailor Moon and everything related (c) Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation; Taiyou, Suzume, and Ariel are, however, my own characters and not meant to be used without my permission.**

***The first 5 chapters of this story are already written and will be published every couple of days, once ch. 5 is published, it'll slow down since I have to finish writing each chapter after that.**

* * *

Haruka took a deep breath, clenching her hands momentarily. Finally, she turned to him and asked, "Shall I begin?"

Seiya found that his throat was suddenly dry. He stared into Haruka's eyes, deep, blue pools of liquid sapphire that sucked him in like they were going to swallow him whole. He blinked, breaking the hypnotic stare. He tried to swallow, but his throat was still dry. He wondered what kind of story Haruka was planning to tell him, and how it affected their kiss. He knew that she had been at least partially delirious when she'd kissed him, but she sounded so serious now, as if something more than delirium had been at work. He licked his lips, swallowed a third and final time, and said, "I'm ready."

Haruka reached forward and placed a hand on top of Seiya's tightly clenched fist. The skin of her palm was warm and dry, with a silky smoothness that made it seem almost non-human. Her long fingers, Seiya realized just how unusually long they were, closed on his own. "This would be easier if we had a direct telegenic connection," she said, "but physical touch will have to suffice."

Seiya's ears perked up at the words 'telegenic connection', he recognized those words. "You're going to tell me this story using memory-pictures, aren't you?" he asked. He unclenched his hand slightly, allowing Haruka's fingers to slip between his own until they were holding hands.

"Not quite," Haruka answered. She squeezed his fingers encouragingly. She was staring at him again with those brilliant-blue gem-like eyes. "It'll be more like watching a movie," she said.

Seiya tried to hold her gaze, but instead found himself searching for something else to look at. His eyes roamed the room, but settle on nothing until he caught sight of the earring Haruka was wearing in her right ear, an earring that had not been there when she'd kissed him. He stared at it, trying to focus on the swirling design, but the twisting metal eluded him, refusing his attempt to comprehend its shape. He tore his gaze from the hypnotizing swirls and met Haruka's eyes. "Let's get it over with," he said, his voice nearly cracking.

Haruka's gaze seemed to intensify, sucking Seiya into those shining blue orbs. His vision flashed a brilliant blue, as if he had become trapped inside a giant sapphire, and then everything went black.

* * *

_Seiya couldn't really describe the sensation as 'coming to' because he knew that he was no longer truly 'awake' in the physical world. It was more that he regained a sense of being, as though his consciousness had been suspended unknowingly in a vast ocean of space, and he had only just become aware of it._

"Seiya." _Haruka's voice blossomed into Seiya's mind, almost visible in the ocean of silence._

"Where are we?" _Seiya asked, attempting to look around, and then realizing that he had no physical body with which to look at anything._ "Are we inside your memories?"

"Something like that," _Haruka answered._

_Seiya tried to focus his mind toward the direction Haruka's voice seemed to be coming from, although it was hard to keep any sense of direction without a body to guide him. He finally focused on what seemed to be a bright splotch of color in his mind's eye. The more he focused on it, the closer it can, until Seiya felt that he was being drawn to it. There was a flash of blinding light, and then Seiya found himself 'standing' on a stone terrace under a clear, blue sky. His mental eyes refocused, and he took in his surroundings._

* * *

_Haruka stood to his right, staring out into a deep blue sky that matched the color of the kimono she was now wearing. She looked like she had changed her clothes, and stepped from the guest room of their house in the 21st century onto the terrace in the Silver Millennium. She looked the same, and yet different. Seiya couldn't quite put his finger on just what it was that had changed, but he was certain that something was off in some way. _Maybe her hair is in a slightly different style, _he thought to himself._

_She seemed to be lost in deep thought, staring glassily into an approaching flock of birds. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she extended her arm to receive one of the birds as it flew towards her. The bird resembled a falcon, but was more silvery in color and closer to the size of an eagle than a falcon; a slim message tube was strapped to its leg._

_Haruka unstrapped the message tube, nearly dropping the small case in her haste to open it. She pried the lid off the tube and dumped its contents into the palm of her hand. Her eyes seemed to glow as she fingered through the small rolls of paper that had been in metal container, but her face fell as she nudged the last roll aside, as though she'd been looking for something but hadn't found it._

_The bird, which had transferred from Haruka's wrist to the stone wall, cawed twice, or at least, Seiya assumed it was a caw. The rough sound grated like a caw, but was high-pitched and melodic like the voice of a songbird. Haruka looked up, searching for something in the bird's face. The bird, having gotten Haruka's attention, ran its beak through the feathers on its chest. It seemed to connect with something, for it began to pull its beak away from its chest in a very slow, careful way. A large, blue feather on the end of a chain emerged from the smaller, silver feathers that covered the bird's chest._

_Seiya had never seen a feather so large before. It was at least 30 centimeters long, colored a brilliant blue that reminded Seiya of the color of Haruka's eyes._

_Haruka let out an uncharacteristic squeal as she removed the chain and feather from the bird's neck. She pulled a handful of seeds from a pouch on her waist, and tossed them onto the wall next to bird. She hugged the feather to her chest, murmuring something that Seiya couldn't hear. She then turned her attention to the miniature scrolls in her palm, unrolling them one by one to read them._

_"News of Shouta-kun?" The deep voice came from behind Seiya._

_Haruka's gaze jerked toward the voice, her eyes lighting up with happiness as recognition registered in her features._

_Seiya spun to face this unknown person, and found that he was staring at... himself, at least, that's what it looked like at first glance. A second look processed that this man, although similar to Seiya in appearance, was not identical to him. This man stood at roughly the same height as Seiya, perhaps a little taller. His hair was black and tied in a ponytail at the top of his head, but the ponytail was shorter, and his hair looked straighter. His face was also slightly thinner than Seiya's, and his shoulders weren't quite so broad._

_"Yes," Haruka answered as the man came to stand beside her at the edge of the terrace. "He says that he's well, and that he should be home soon." Haruka's face fell, and she leaned against the man, closing her eyes. "I worry, Taiyou," she said, "He never tells me any details, I can't help but think that he's been hurt. Is that wrong of me?"_

_Taiyou smiled softly, wrapping an arm around Haruka's shoulders and gently caressing her cheek. "I'm sure he's fine, Kaze," he said._

Kaze? _Seiya thought, sending the question to Haruka._

_A sense of nostalgia emanated from Haruka. _Kaze was my name in the Silver Millennium, _she replied. _Shouta was my younger brother.

You were looking for a 30 centimeter-long feather in a five centimeter container? _Seiya thought at her._

_Haruka sent him an image of a withering look and replied, _I was worried, and it was actually 37 centimeters long

_"How can you be certain?" Kaze asked, drawing Seiya's attention back to the memory. She was looking up into Taiyou's face, clutching at his kimono, pulling herself closer to him. Seiya could hear the worry in her voice._

_Taiyou put his other hand on her shoulder, smiling gently as he rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone. He bent down very slightly, so that his forehead was nearly touching Kaze's own. "Because," he whispered, "Shouta-kun is your brother."_

_Kaze nodded, closed her eyes, and leaned her head on Taiyou's shoulder, making a sort of purring sound as she nestled her blond head against his neck and slipped one hand inside the fold of his loosely tied kimono._

_"Otou-chan! Okaa-chan!" a shrill cry came from the direction Taiyou had appeared from. A small girl ran out onto the terrace, followed by a young woman. The girl had black, shoulder-length hair, with a single highlighted strand of blond in her bangs. Her eyes were a liquid brown, and her skin was pale. She wore a dark blue knee-length dress that was tied at the waist with a golden sash. A thin band of gold inlaid with a single sapphire glistened on her forehead._

_The young woman following the girl was, oddly enough, not out of breath, although she had been running full force when she entered the terrace. Her blond hair was pulled into a pair of curly, wind-blown pigtails, and her eyes gleamed ice-blue. "Suzume-sama!" she exclaimed, "You really shouldn't address your parents like that, it isn't proper!"_

_Kaze chuckled, saying, "It's alright, Ariel. Suzu can talk like that if she likes."_

_"But Hime-sama," Ariel protested._

_"She's not even ten years of age, Ariel," Kaze said with a smile, "She'll learn with time."_

_Ariel smiled, and turned her attention to Suzume, who was now tugging on Kaze's kimono._

_"What is it, Sweetie?" Kaze asked, carefully bending down until she was eye-to-eye with her daughter._

_Suzume held up something that Seiya guessed was supposed to be a bracelet, although it was so small that it didn't look like it would fit on any normal sized wrist._

_"For me?" Kaze asked, taking the tiny bracelet and holding it delicately._

_"No," Suzume scolded, momentarily placing her hands on her hips, a serious expression on her face. She then placed a hand on Kaze's stomach and whispered, "For the baby."_

_Kaze smiled, placing her own hand on top of Suzume's. "Oh!" Kaze exclaimed, glancing down at her stomach before smiling up at Suzume. "Did you feel that?"_

_Suzume nodded, smiling. "My baby brother kicked," she said, giggling._

_ "Yes, he did," Kaze agreed. She started to come out of her crouch, but kept her head close to Suzume's. "Now," she said, "it's time for you to go back inside with Ariel and finish your lessons."_

_ "Okay," Suzume agreed. She turned, took Ariel's offered hand, and started skipping back into the palace._

_Kaze straightened up and learned against Taiyou, one arm sliding around his waist while the other slid back inside his kimono. Her head fell to his shoulder and she looked up at him, meeting his eyes as he gazed down at her._

_ "She's certainly set her heart on having a brother, hasn't she?" Taiyou said, brushing his chin against Kaze's forehead. He moved his hand across the small of her back to rest on her stomach, his other hand drawing Kaze's hand from inside his kimono and clasping it loosely._

_Seiya realized that it was the slight baby-bump that caused Kaze to look different from the Haruka he knew._ So that's why, _he thought to himself._

Yes,_ Haruka agreed with him. _I was expecting Taiyou's second child at that time, around the equivalent of five months.

_Seiya turned his attention back to the scene in front of them._

_ "She is," Kaze said, answering Taiyou's question. "But there is a fifty percent chance that she's right." She nuzzled her nose up against his cheek, closing her eyes and purring again. Her mouth was half open, like she was going to ask for something._

_Taiyou tilted his head to meet Kaze's, and as their lips met, Seiya realized that she had been asking for a kiss._

_ "You're right," Taiyou said as they broke apart. He unclasped his hand from Kaze's and slid it up to the back of her neck, holding her head close to his as they kissed again._

_Kaze chuckled, and slid her now-free hand up to play with Taiyou's ponytail, pulling herself even closer to him as their kiss stretched on. They were still locked in that position when the vision began to fade away, leaving Seiya in darkness once again._

_He was a bit surprised to see that Kaze would purposefully allow herself to be so vulnerable in front of anyone, let alone a man. But Kaze had acted differently toward Taiyou, as if they were more than even friends. _Then again,_ Seiya thought, _He'd have to be more than a friend is she was willing to kiss him like that.

You're right,_ Haruka thought at him,_ he was my husband.

Husband!_ Seiya was shocked, he hadn't thought that Haruka had married, even in the Silver Millennium. But there was always the possibility that it was…_

It was an arranged marriage,_ Haruka thought. _I was the second eldest of Serenity's senshi, so I was one of the first marry. A marriage between one of the senshi and a noble from a different court often sealed treaties and alliances. It was a way to bind two kingdoms together.

Oh. _Seiya considered this for a bit, and then asked, _So where was Taiyou-san from?

Kinmokusei,_ Haruka answered._

_Seiya was startled. He hadn't know of a treaty between the Moon Kingdom and Kinmokusei during the Silver Millennium. He'd always assumed that he and the other Starlights were the first of their country to visit this solar system, but an alliance between the two made sense once he thought about it. Then a thought struck him, _Was Taiyou-san…

…Star Fighter?_ Haruka finished for him. _Yes, he was a Sailor Knight. The only Star Fighter to become a Knight.

I think I've heard of him, _Seiya informed her._

It's possible, _Haruka agreed._

Did you love him? _Seiya's question was so unexpected that he took Haruka by surprise._

Well… I guess, in a way, _she answered._ Like I said, it was an arranged marriage, although. _She broke off, as though trying to decide if she should explain something to Seiya or not. Finally, she continued. _Taiyou and I had known each other since we were young children. We knew that, since Pluto would never marry, I would be the senshi to marry one of the Kinmokuseian court members. I didn't get along well with Maker and Healer, we were acquainted, but we more tolerated each others' presence than anything else. _Haruka paused, her emotions a tangled mess. Her affection toward Taiyou and Suzume was most prominent, but it was tinged with sadness and pain. The memory of kissing Taiyou had awakened a thrill of pleasure, as had the memory of Suzume's hand on her stomach and the baby's kick. They had been her family, the people dearest to her, and now they were gone. She gathered her thoughts, and continued. _We knew that, although it had been predetermined that I would be one side of the marriage, it had not been decided who my husband would be. When I got closer to marriageable age, Taiyou went before his princess, Princess Aki, and requested that he be chosen. We were friends, but we did not love each other in the way that you mean, Seiya, we never did, we just settled for the next best thing.

Oh, _Seiya thought. He felt that he was beginning to understand why Haruka had kissed him that afternoon. _So, earlier this afternoon...you were delirious, and thought that I looked like Taiyou-san...and...

…..Kissed you because I was thinking of him? _Haruka thought, finishing for him a second time. _Yes. He was my best friend, and he sacrificed so much for my sake, I often wonder if perhaps he did feel that way, although I could not feel that way for him. _She paused again, focusing on something beyond what she'd told Seiya already. _There is more to my story,_ she told him,_ more that I must explain. For you must know what happened to Taiyou and our daughter. You must understand the fate of the Star.

_Seiya strained to hear more, but Haruka's voice faded into the ocean of darkness. There was more to the story, he knew, which meant more memories to watch. The glowing haze began to return, growing brighter until it was blinding white._

* * *

**What do you think of this chapter, please, let me know ^_^**

**I made up Ariel, Suzume, Taiyou, and Princess Aki, but I'm trying to give them some character development. If you want to see what Ariel looks like pm me and I'll send you a link to some pictures of her. The are no pictures of the others right now (I want to change that eventually).**

**Why the 'equivalent' of five months pregnant for Kaze (Silver Millennium Haruka)? That will be explained in a later chapter, let's just say that her pregnancy cycle is longer than what we would consider normal.**


	4. Fate of the Star

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon and all related character (C) Naoko Takeuchi, Taiyou, Suzume, and the Uranian Senshi, however, are created by me and may not be used without my permission.**

* * *

_The first thing that Seiya saw was Kaze's face, pale and drawn. He knew, somehow, that he was seeing something that had taken place soon after the terrace scene he had just witnessed. His consciousness felt scattered, like he was a bug who had been smacked by a magazine and was now in pieces. He took a moment to gather himself, using Kaze's face as a focal point to avoid drifting off into nothingness. He was in a stone corridor that opened onto the terrace he'd seen earlier._

_Kaze stood in the middle of the corridor dressed in a short kimono and leggings, brandishing her sword. She was breathing hard, staring at the body at her feet. Blood dripped from a gash in her arm and a cut on her cheek, falling onto the cold stone floor where it shone like rubies._

_"Kaze!" The frantic yell came from the terrace. Taiyou ran into the hall, grabbing Kaze in a tight hug. He held her close, burying his face in her hair. His breath came hard and fast and his arms were shaking. "Kaze," he whispered, "Oh, Kaze, I was scared that something had happened to you." He lifted his face from Kaze's hair, and Seiya could see the glisten of tears on his cheeks. Taiyou pulled Kaze's face away from his shoulder, caressing her cheek with his hand. He brushed away stray tears with his thumb, then kissed her, locking his mouth to hers for several moments, one hand on the back of her neck. When he finally broke away, they were both gasping for air._

_Kaze laid her head against Taiyou's chest, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "I, I-I- " Her voice cracked and she couldn't finish the sentence. She licked her lips and tried again. "I- I k-killed-" Her eyes opened wide, and she began to shake all over._

_"Shh," Taiyou whispered. "Shh, it's okay, he's not dead. He attacked you and you defended yourself. You did nothing wrong." He rubbed her back, holding her close while she cried._

_Kaze's shoulders stopped shaking after a few minutes, although she remained in Taiyou's embrace a moment longer. She pulled her face away from Taiyou's shoulder, and wiped the tear-streaks away with her sleeve. "I'm okay now," she whispered._

_"Hime-sama!" A young woman in a sailor fuku ran into the hall, her blond hair coming loose from her pigtails to frame her face. She hurried to Kaze and hugged her, sobbing into the taller woman's shirt._

_Kaze stoked her hand through the young woman's hair and said, "It's okay, Ariel, everything's fine."_

_Seiya looked at the young woman, and realized that she was the same Ariel from earlier on the terrace, now wearing a blue and gold sailor fuku. One of her sleeves and part of her collar were torn, and her brooch dangled from the bow, held there by a thin strip of blue fabric. Her double skirts were tattered, and her boots were spattered with blood._

Sailor Ariel, _Haruka thought to Seiya. _The Sailor Senshi of the Moon Kingdom functioned on three levels. There was the high princess, Princess Serenity. Then came the lower princesses who were also the planetary senshi. The third group was the Satellite Senshi, the Sailor Senshi of each planet. _She fell silent for a moment, as though gazing at her past self and her young warrior. _Ariel's parents died when she was very young, so she was brought to the Uranian palace to train. She was like a younger sister to me, I almost couldn't bear it the first time she went into battle. I never found out what happened to her after the Moon Kingdom fell, so I don't know if she survived or if she was killed in battle.

_"Hime-sama!" Four more women wearing the same sailor fuku as Sailor Ariel ran into the hall. A woman with dark hair and a star on her belt stepped forward and spoke to Kaze, revealing herself as the one who had yelled. "The assassins have been captured, Princess." She bowed slightly, raising her right hand to her tiara in a quick salute._

_"Thank you, Miranda," Kaze said with a smile. She rubbed Ariel's head a final time, and gently stepped out of the young senshi's embrace. "How many have been lost or injured?"_

_"Two of the men have received injuries," Miranda said, "But nothing fatal. Umbriel?" She turned to the dark-skinned senshi beside her, raising a questioning eyebrow._

_Seiya studied Umbriel, who was dressed exactly like the other senshi. _It looks like I'll have to tell them apart by their hair, _he thought to himself, _it seems to be the only consistent physical difference._ He focused on Umbriel again, memorizing her long, dark ponytail._

_"Only one causality," Umbriel said. "Unfortunately, it was fatal."_

_Kaze nodded and said, "We'll have to alert the family members and prepare a military burial. How about in your division, Titania?"_

_Titania's bright pink bob contrasted with the serious expression on her dark face. "Five causality," she said, "Two of them fatal."_

_Kaze nodded again, a stray tear making its way down her cheek. "Oberon?" she asked, turning to a young senshi who couldn't have been more than a year or two older than Ariel._

_"The archers have lost three of their number to injuries," Oberon said, "but we have no deaths."_

_"Very well," Kaze said. "Send word to the families of the dead, and give orders for the bodies to be prepared for-"_

_"Okaa-chan?" Suzume's quiet voice came from the direction of the terrace._

_Kaze and the Uranian senshi turned to look at Suzume, then Ariel cried out as something glinted in the dark of the terrace. She dashed forward, only to be thrown to the ground by the dark figure that had grabbed Suzume._

_"Okaa-chan!" Suzume screamed. She struggled in the arms of her captor, trying to bite his hand. She froze with a squeak as a knife pressed against her chest._

_"NO!" Kaze yelled. She ran forward, time slowed down._

_Seiya wanted to close his eyes, look away from when he knew was about to happen. But there was nothing he could do as he watched the horror unfold in front of him._

_Suzume's sudden scream turned into a strangled cry as the knife pierced through her body and cut her heart in two._

_"No!" Kaze screamed. "NO! Suzume!" She fell to her knees in time to catch the still body. She dabbed at the wound with the edge of her shirt, pleading with Suzume to say something. But she was to late._

_Suzume's small lips were sealed forever, and not one of the Sailor Senshi, not even Princess Serenity herself, had the power to bring her back. Suzume was dead._

_The dark figure raised its knife over Kaze's unprotected neck, but fell backward when Taiyou crashed into it. It fell into the lamplight, revealing itself to be male. Slowly, he climbed to his feet, his knife raised against another attack._

_But Taiyou remained by Kaze's side, his sword drawn and ready._

_The man ran to the edge of the terrace, unhindered by the stunned crowd around him. He jumped up onto the terrace railing, then turned back to Kaze. "I'll be back," he promised. "I'll make sure that the bloodline of Uranus is never soiled!" Then he jumped, straight off the terrace and into the night._

_"Suzume?" Kaze brushed dark locks of hair from her daughter's forehead. "No," she whispered. "NO!" Her cry turned into a keening wail that rose into the raging wind outside._

_Seiya hadn't known that the human voice could carry such emotion as he heard in Kaze's cry. The sound tore into his heart as he watched a mother cry for her dead child._

_Finally, Kaze's scream died, and she began to sob, burying her face in Suzume's dark curls._

_Taiyou knelt beside, and took her in his arms, tears falling freely from his eyes. "We need to prepare her," he said quietly, his voice cracking with emotion._

_Kaze nodded, and passed the still body to him as he stood. She then got unsteadily to her feet, only to fall to ground again, doubled over with an expression of pain on her face and clutching her stomach._

_"Kaze!" Taiyou yelled. He knelt, set Suzume's body on the ground, and grabbed Kaze's shoulders. "Kaze," he whispered, his face ashen, "What's wrong?"_

_Kaze looked at him with pain in her eyes. "I think something happened to the baby," she said. Then she fell forward, and everything went black._

* * *

_ Seiya waited for the scene to come back into his mind's eye. He wanted to know what had happened to Haruka, and what had happened to her baby. The scene didn't come. _What happened? _He finally asked, his patience wearing thin._

I passed out, _Haruka thought to him. _Do you remember the man who was on the floor at the beginning of that memory? He kicked me in the stomach before I was able to draw my sword. I heard a crack, but I didn't think anything of it. _She paused for a moment. _Perhaps it was better that I didn't realize what had happened. I don't think I would have been able to fight if I had know that he had just killed the baby. _She made a sound like a mental sob._

_ Seiya tried to understand what Haruka had just told him. The man Kaze had attacked had killed the baby, Kaze had lost both of her children within an hour. _But, why did you pass out? _He asked._

I had gone into shock, _Haruka told him. _ I couldn't process what was happening, but my body responded without me telling it to. It realized that the baby was dead long before I did. I passed out when I felt the first contraction. My son was already dead when he came into the world five hours later. _She paused again, and there was another mental sob. _I don't remember much from the days that followed. I only know that I constantly in pain, but that it didn't even begin to compare with the pain in my heart. I didn't begin to think clearly again until a week later. I was just in time to fight another battle, and face another loss.

_ Seiya was about to ask another question, when the now familiar light flooded his mind's eye. He braced himself as everything turn white, and he fell into another of Haruka's memories._

* * *

_ He arrived at what seemed to be the end of a battle. Kaze and Taiyou stood roughly three meters apart on a small hill, surrounded by a ring of fallen attackers. Ariel, Miranda, and others were scattered over the landscape, some of them finishing skirmishes, most of them resting._

_ Ariel stumbled up to Kaze, who was transformed into Sailor Uranus. "Is it over?" she asked, her voice so soft if could barely be heard. She collapsed against Uranus, her legs unable to hold her upright._

_ "It's over," Uranus murmured soothingly, running her hand over Ariel's hair._

_ "Finally," Ariel whispered._

_ Something moved in the corner of Seiya's vision. He focused on it, and saw that it was the same man who had killed Suzume, still dressed all in black. His sword was raised, aimed at Uranus' unprotected back._

_ Taiyou saw the man a split second after Seiya. He ran toward Uranus._

_ The man threw the sword._

_ Taiyou fell to the ground, staring at the sword that now impaled him._

_ The man in black was immediately attacked by all the soldiers near enough to get to him before he could run, but it was to late._

_ Uranus turned around, and fell to her knees next to Taiyou, her hands dropping uselessly to her sides. She didn't say anything, just stared at her husband's chest as it rose and fell with each breath. Then she reached out, grabbed the sword blade, and yanked it from Taiyou's chest, casting it as far away as she could._

_ "Kaze," Taiyou whispered, his voice growing weak. He reached up with shaking hand and caressed her cheek._

_ "Shh," Kaze shushed him. She slid an arm under his shoulders, supporting him as she brought his head into her lap. "Don't try to talk. You'll be alright." Her voice shook and she bit her lip, her eyes shining with unshed tears._

_ "No, Kaze," Taiyou whispered. A single tear began to trickle down his cheek, but he didn't brush it away. He was beginning to fade around the edges, like the inner senshi had done when Galaxia stole their starseeds. "I'm already beginning to fade, you know I won't last much longer."_

_ "Don't," Kaze shushed him again. She hugged him then, rapping her arms around him like she was never going to let go. It wouldn't work though, Taiyou would just fade right through her fingers._

_ Taiyou's lips formed a thin smile, and he returned the embrace. They stayed locked together for several minutes, while Taiyou grew fainter and fainter. Finally, just before he faded completely, Taiyou kissed Kaze one final time, and whispered, "I love you." Then he was gone, and Kaze was alone._

_ Several tears fell to the ground in front of Kaze. Then she let out a strangled sob. She hadn't been able to save any of them, not her children or her husband. She was truly alone._

_ Seiya felt like crying as the vision faded to black. He wanted to grab Haruka, and hold her until she had no more tears to cry. He wanted to make sure that she would never have reason to cry again._

* * *

Seiya opened his eyes, and found himself back in the guest room, sitting in the same position he'd been in when Haruka began to show him what had happened to her. He was still holding her hand, although it was now wet with their combined tears. He looked at Haruka, and saw tear tracks on her cheeks. Her eyes were red from crying, and shone with fresh tears not yet shed. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," Haruka said, her voice cracking. "There was nothing you could do, you weren't even born then."

Seiya knew she was right, but he still wished he could have done something. He squeezed her hand gently, trying to smile. His watch beeped, letting him know that it was one o'clock. He glanced at it briefly, then turned back to Haruka. "I have something I need to take care of," he said, "I'll be back soon. You should try to get some sleep."

"Of course," Haruka agreed. She carefully laid back on the sleeping mat, wiping at the tear tracks on her face. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm a mess right now."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Seiya said, pulling the blanket over her. He checked to make sure she was comfortable, then stood and left the room. It was time for him to go and teach Teki Zettai a lesson.

* * *

**Haha...I got the first part of this chapter up, but forgot the rest. Sorry if you got an update that was deleted, this is now the full chapter, not just part of the chapter.**

**I've only got one more chapter finished after this one. After I've posted that chapter, it will probably take a little while for the story to be updated, although I fully intend to finish it.**


	5. Could we try Again

**Sailor Moon (C) Naoko Takeuchi**

**Forewarning: short chapter. This is that last chapter currently finished, it may be a while before the next one is finished.**

* * *

Seiya slid his key into the lock on the front door, turned it, and let himself into the entryway, locking the door again once he had passed through. He sat down on the edge of the step and began untying his shoes, glancing briefly at his watch. It had stopped ticking on his way home and the hands were now fixed on 3:10 a.m. He guessed that the time was actually around 3:30, which meant that he had been gone for nearly two-and-one-half hours. His left wrist stung and his shins ached, but he hadn't taken the time to look at his wounds on the way home.

He finished removing his shoes, stood up, and walked into the living room. The digital clock on the mantle blinked at him, declaring that it was 3:33 a.m. He sighed and carefully made his way across the room, bighting back a yelp when he banged into a low stool that had been left in the walkway. He found the far wall, and made his way along it with one hand brushing lightly across the surface of the wall. He had nearly made it to the stairs when he noticed that the door to the guest room was open and light was pouring out. He walked over and peeked in.

Haruka was still lying on her blankets, and Hotaru sat against the near wall.

Seiya was about to go up to his room when he heard Haruka call his name. He turned, and walked into the room, stopping just inside the door.

Haruka had risen onto one elbow and was pushing off the blankets that covered her. "You're back," she said quietly.

"Yes," Seiya agreed, raising his eyebrows at her quiet tone.

Haruka put a finger to her lips then pointed at Hotaru.

Seiya took a closer look at the young girl, and realized that she was asleep. He looked at Haruka and raised a single eyebrow.

"She insisted that she could take a shift," Haruka said. "Nothing's happened since my coughing fit last night, so I think it's okay for her to sleep."

Seiya grinned, and walked toward Haruka's blankets.

Haruka had untied the top of her robe, and pulled it off so that she was only wearing a short tank-top and the cloth bandages that wrapped around her torso. The bandages, which had been white when they were first put on, were now stained a pale yellow with streaks of red.

Seiya sat down next to Haruka's blankets, wincing when he put weight on his sore wrist.

"Where did you go?" Haruka asked quietly.

Seiya didn't answer, uncertain if he wanted to tell her that he'd challenged Teki Zettai. He stared at the wall behind Haruka, absentmindedly rubbing his sore wrist.

"Seiya!" Haruka cried. She reached for his hand and pulled it towards herself, pealing back the now blood-soaked cuff of his light jacket. She gently ran her fingers across the set of cuts on his wrist, trying to clean off the blood. "You didn't," She whispered, guessing where Seiya had been.

"He'll never come after you again," Seiya told her, gently removing her probing fingers from his injured wrist. "I'll be right back," He said, standing. He walked to the bathroom and wet a rag in the sink. He then returned to Haruka's bedside, wincing as he tried to wash the blood off his wrist.

"Please, let me," Haruka whispered. She took the cloth from Seiya and carefully began dabbing at the bleeding area. She kept a gentle grip on Seiya's wrist just below the slashed area, holding it still while she cleaned. Her gentle persistence soon began to win against the bleeding slashes, the edges of which were could now be clearly seen. Haruka wiped away the last of the blood and, setting the rag down, softly ran her fingers over the edges of the gashes, trying to guess how deep they were. She studied the gashes for a few seconds, then pulled Seiya's hand even closer, holding it up to her chest near her heart.

Seiya felt a tingling sensation in his fingers that slowly spread to his hand and down into his wrist. The tingling increased until it changed into and itch that made Seiya want to scratch his skin off. But he couldn't scratch his hand, since Haruka still held it.

Haruka started humming, closing her eyes while a soft glow appeared on Seiya's wrist under her fingers. She gently ran her fingertips along the gashes, then pressed down hard.

Seiya winced and closed his eyes, expecting to feel a stab of pain. He waited, but felt no pain. He felt only a soft pressure on his injured wrist. He opened his eyes, surprised.

Haruka's hum faded with the glow on Seiya's wrist. She opened her eyes, and gently pulled Seiya's hand away from her chest. She ran her fingers over the area that had been slashed, examining her handiwork. She smiled slightly, then let go of his hand.

Seiya held his wrist up close to his face, not quite sure that his eyes were telling the truth. The three gashes were gone, leaving only faint, pink scares in their place. "Thank you," he said, looking back at Haruka.

"No," she murmured, blushing and look at her hands. "Thank you, for... taking care of Teki-san for me."

Seiya grinned and said, "Someone needed to teach him a lesson anyway." He glanced at the bandages wrapped around Haruka's torso, and realized how dirty they were. "Shouldn't those be changed?" He asked, gesturing toward the bandages.

Haruka grimaced. "I tried taking them off," she said. "But they're stuck on with blood."

"It looks like some of the shallower wounds have been weeping as well," Seiya said. He thought for a moment and then stood, picking up the rag Haruka had used to clean his wrist. He went into the bathroom and rinsed the rag in warm water, then got the bowl from the nightstand and filled it with morewarm water.

Haruka watched him with raised eyebrows, a slightly puzzled grin on her face. "What are you doing?" she asked when Seiya returned with the bowl and rag.

Seiya held out the wet rag and said, "If we set down the bandages, they should come off easier. Where do they start?" He waited until Haruka tapped the place where the end of the bandage was tucked in, then began dabbing at the bandages with rag. Soon he was able to pull the end of the bandage free. He carefully began unwinding the cloth, dabbing at it with the wet rag whenever it stuck.

Haruka did nothing to stop him, but rather closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder, stirring only when he pulled to hard on the bandages.

Seiya could feel her hair against his neck, softly tickling him until he brushed it away. He'd gotten about half of the bandages off when he stopped pulling at them. "Am I hurting you?" he asked.

Haruka sat up slightly and looked at him. "No," she whispered. "It stings a little when the bandages are pulled free, but I need to get them off. Thank you."

Seiya smiled at her, then softly pulled her head back down to rest on his shoulder. He continued to removed the bandages until he reached the bottom of Haruka's tank-top. "Haruka-san," he murmured. "I'm going to go and change the water in the bowl."

Haruka sat up, blinking her eyes groggily. She stared at Seiya for a moment, then took the rag from his outstretched hand, nodding her understanding.

Seiya picked up the bowl and stood, going into the bathroom and pouring the water into the sink. He took his time re-filling the bowl, giving Haruka time to remove the bandages under her shirt. He added some disinfectant to the water in the bowl, mixed it together, and went back into the guest room.

Haruka was coiling the soiled bandages around her arm when Seiya sat down beside her again. She set the bandages aside and took the bowl of water into her lap. She dipped the rag into the bowl, clearly about to start rinsing off the blood and mucus that was now seeping from the exposed wounds, when Seiya caught her hands in his.

He gently pulled the rag from her hands and removed the bowl from between her legs. "I added some disinfectant," he told her. "This might sting a little."

Haruka nodded her understanding, although the frown on her face made it clear she was unhappy with him. But Seiya wasn't about to let her use the water and disinfectant mixture by herself.

He knew that the disinfectant would probably make her wounds sting, which would only add to the pain he was certain she already dealt with. He knew that Haruka was not weak, but he also knew that she would be fighting against her own body if she tried applying the mixture by herself, since her brain would process that it was painful and try to stop her, even if she knew that it would actually help her.

"Why are you doing this for me?" she whispered.

Seiya didn't answer right away. He wasn't even certain that he knew the answer himself yet. No, that wasn't it. He had a feeling that he knew the answer, somewhere deep within his heart, he just wasn't ready to take it out yet. Someday, someday he'd bring it out and show her. Someday he'd tell her that he'd finally realized that he'd been falling in love with her over the last four years. Someday he'd tell her...he'd tell her that he loved her. But he wasn't ready yet. There was one thing he wanted to be sure of first. He wanted to be sure that he'd at least have a chance. He wanted to try and make Haruka fall in love with _him_. He glanced upward.

Haruka was still looking at him, clearly wanting to repeat her question, yet hesitating to do so, most likely because she didn't want to seem like she needed the answer.

He felt a soft smile coming unbidden to his lips. He knew what he wanted to say, but he also knew what he needed to say. "I guess it's because I want to know if you're willing to try again?" he whispered.

"Try again?" she echoed, not fully understanding him.

"We never really tried to be friends," Seiya whispered. "And even when we pretended to try, there was always something that caused friction, but now..." he trailed off.

Haruka didn't need him to finish his sentence to know what he'd been thinking. Usagi was married to Mamoru, and safely out of Seiya's reach. And Michiru, the other source of friction between the two of them, had long since explained the activities Haruka had seen in Michiru's dressing room. Haruka now understood that it was Michiru who had been doing the flirting, while Seiya had been... attempting to get himself out of the awkward situation without being completely rude. And besides that, Haruka and Michiru weren't exactly a couple anymore. Michiru had initiated the relationship, and she'd also ended it. They were still friends, and Haruka knew that she'd be one of the first people to respond if anything happened to Michiru. But it was also a bit...freeing to know that Michiru no longer depended on her the way she had. She smiled, then frowned, wondering if perhaps she was the one who had been depending on Michiru, and not the other way around.

Seiya gently touched her shoulder, "Haruka?"

Haruka felt something inside her melt when he said her name, leaving off the usual 'san' and using no honorifics at all. She knew that she should be upset that he'd left off the honorific, angry that he'd dared speak her name in such a way, but she wasn't. If anything, she wanted to hear him say it again. She wanted to close her eyes and bury her face in his chest. She wanted to feel his arms around her again, holding her like they had when she'd cried. That was another thing. She never cried in front of others -with the exception of Serenity and a few others-, she could count the number of times she'd cried in front of Taiyou on just two hands, the majority coming from that last week she'd had with him, after her children had died. Michiu had only seen her cry once, and that was only because she'd burst in on Haruka when Haruka had thought she was out.

Seiya gently reached over and brushed away tears that Haruka hadn't even noticed.

_What's happening to me?_ she wondered. _I never cry in front of people, and now this is the fourth time he's seen me cry!_

"Haruka," he whispered.

Haruka felt a shiver go down her spine when she heard him say her name. It somehow made her feel even happier than she'd been when Taiyou kissed her. But that was part of her problem, she had to stop comparing Seiya to Taiyou. She knew that it was normal for two Sailor Senshi resemble each other, especially if they were from different generations and held the same positions, since Sailor powers usually -but not always- passed from parent to child, or grandparent to child, with the odd niece or nephew tossed in once in a while. She wasn't quite certain how Seiya had ended up resembling Taiyou so much, with nearly a millennia of generations between them, but somehow, he'd ended up looking like he could have been Taiyou's...brother. She almost though the word 'son', but caught herself. Seiya would have to resemble _her_ as well to look like Taiyou's son, and she was quite certain that wasn't the case.

Seiya touched her shoulder again. "If this is to much, then-"

"No," Haruka whispered. "It's fine. I just...So much has happened...I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed." She opened her eyes and met his gaze for a moment, before looking away and catching sight of bowl of water still at his feet. A light smile came to her lips. "Are you going to help me with that, or not?" she asked, pointing at the bowl.

Seiya shook his head and blinked, and if waking up from a daze. "Sure...yeah," he stuttered. "I mean...yes, I'll help." He stuck his fingers in the water and stirred it around, mixing it together again while letting off a small amount of energy that warmed the water in seconds. He put a hand on Haruka's shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She allowed him to do it, offering little resistance. Dipping the rag into the water, he began to carefully dab at the wounds on her back.

Haruka hissed, grabbing his shoulders and squeezing. He was right, it did sting. She wondered, briefly, how much more it would sting when he started cleaning the wounds on her stomach or close to her hips, she didn't even want to think about when he got to the edge of her shirt. He was to much of a gentleman to ask her to let him clean the areas hidden by her shirt, so she'd have to force herself to clean the wounds hidden by her shirt.

Seiya moved as gently as he could, rinsing the rag when he needed to. He could feel Haruka's hands on his shoulder, and her teeth, now clenched on his shirt to keep from making a sound that might wake Hotaru.

Haruka hissed again, this time louder, when he finished cleaning the wounds on her back and started on the ones that covered her stomach. She wasn't making any other sound, but she was trembling.

It didn't take Seiya long to finish cleaning the wounds on the middle of her abdomen, since they were fewer than the ones on her back. He rinsed the rag again, and carefully began to dab at the wounds lower down, near her hips.

Haruka growled involuntarily, coming dangerously close to actually biting Seiya through his shirt. She'd known that it would hurt when he cleaned those wounds, but she hadn't know it would hurt that much. She was relieved when she felt his hands withdraw to rinse the rag again. She loosened her jaw, feeling slightly numb from the disinfectant that was still cleaning her wounds. She felt Seiya's hands moving up again, and stiffened. He still hadn't cleaned the wounds at the edge of her shirt, which meant that was where she'd feel the sting next. She scrunched her eyes closed, trying to keep her hands from trembling on Seiya's shoulders.

Seiya felt Haruka tense up, and withdrew momentarily. But he knew that the wounds needed to get clean, so he placed one hand on the small of her back, and raised the other to wipe away the dried blood and mucus. Haruka didn't make a sound as he touched the rag to the first wound, but his shoulder suddenly ached. It took him a moment to realize that she'd actually bitten his shoulder through his shirt. He winced a bit, but didn't say anything. It was a reflex, he knew, a reaction to the sting of the disinfectant on her wounds. He cleaned the rest of the wounds quickly, dabbing at them gently but firmly. He finally finished and placed the rag on the edge of the bowl.

Haruka whimpered, her teeth were no longer digging into Seiya's shoulder, but she could still taste blood in her mouth. She could feel her eyes growing watery from the pain, but she blinked back the tears, determined not to cry. She could feel his hands brushing across her back so lightly that she almost couldn't tell it was him. Her spine arched as she felt a tingle of energy shooting through her. A deep rumble of a hum rose from Seiya's chest, and she could easily feel the vibrations as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Seiya continued humming for several minutes, tracing his fingers across the cuts on Haruka's back and watching them close as his fingers passed over them. The healing powers that he used were different from hers, but they penetrated deeper, ensuring that any infection was taken care of. The disinfectant he had applied was helping, and it made it easier for him to see where the cuts were. He gently moved his hand from her back to her sides, running his fingers across the long gashes that ran parallel to her ribs. The scars on her back would heal and fade, but he had a feeling that she would have the scars on her sides for the rest of her life. He closed his eyes, letting his fingers guide him, listening for Haruka's warning hiss if he came to close to touching places he shouldn't. The last of the wounds were soon closed, but he didn't open his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Haruka, and held her for a few moments.

Haruka eventually loosened her arms, breaking away from his hold. "Thank you," she whispered, looking at him with a sleepy, grateful look in her eyes.

"Just be more careful in the future," he whispered back. He held the blankets as she lay down, then pulled them up to her chin. "Good night," he murmured.

"G'night," Haruka murmured sleepily.

Seiya smiled, making sure that the blankets were securely tucked around her, and then left the room, heading upstairs to his own room. He fell asleep, still fully dress, with a contented smile on his face.

* * *

**Thank you for reading, I hope this chapter meets your expectations ^_^ Please leave a review if you think there's anything I need to work on.**


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